Winter (more or less) equals lamb as I mentioned previously in “Lamb Three Ways”. This time sharing lamb stew with tofu skin recipe, another typical Cantonese winter stew to bring the heat in body.
QUICK TAKEAWAYS
- lamb brisket with bone and skin is our favorite for its texture, but I have tried using lamb chop or leg to make this dish, it still tastes good
- do not rinse cooked lamb meat under cold water, which would make lamb meat stiff; similarly, before slow cooking lamb stew, add in hot water rather than cold water
- tofu skin just need to cook for around 5-10mins at the end
RECIPE
- lamb brisket (ideally) 羊腩 2-3lb
- ginger slices
- scallion chunks
- 1 whole garlic’s cloves
- cooking wine
- tofu skin
Sauce:
- 4 blocks of fermented tofu/bean curd 南乳/腐乳
- 1-2tbsp of sauce from fermented tofu/bean curd
- 1-2tbsp Chu Hou Paste 柱侯酱
- 1-2tbsp hoisin sauce 海鲜酱 (if cannot find Chu Hou paste, just double hoisin sauce)
- 1tbsp sesame/peanut sauce
Dry Spice (whatever is available):
- 1-2 star anise
- 2 bay leaves
- 3-5g/1 small stick of cinnamon
- 1 Lanxangia tsaoko 草果
- 3 white cardamom 豆蔻
- 1 small Chen-pi (sun-dried mandarin orange peel) 陈皮 (strong flavor)
More ingredients to add later:
- 3-4 rock candy
- 2tbsp soy sauce
- 1tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1tbsp oyster sauce
STEP 0: wash lamb brisket, put in water for at least 1-2 hours or overnight to get rid of any remaining blood and reduce gamy taste
STEP 1: submerge tofu skin in water to soften it (usually take at least 30-40mins); chop ginger slices, garlic cloves, scallion chunks; combine sauces and mix well; gather all dry spice and put into a small tea bag / spice bag if available
STEP 2: in cold water, cook lamb brisket with a few ginger slices, 1-2 scallion and a few tbsp cooking wine till boiling for 5-10mins. Discard everything except for lamb brisket. DO NOT RINSE UNDER COLD WATER.
STEP 3: in a pot with oil, stir fry ginger and garlic cloves under medium heat
STEP 4: add in lamb, stir fry till the edge or surface looks golden; add in dry spices
STEP 5: add in sauce and make sure they coats all lamb chunks; then add a few tbsp of cooking wine to add fragrance and get rid of gamy taste
STEP 6: pour in **hot water** in pot till covers all lamb brisket, turn to high heat
STEP 7: add in ~2 rock candy, 2tbsp soy sauce, 1tbsp dark soy sauce, 1tbsp oyster sauce, stir well
STEP 8: after the stew start boiling, turn heat back down to medium-low, slow cook for 40-60mins
STEP 9: slice soften tofu skin to bite size, add them in the last 10mins of cooking
STEP 10: slice more scallion chunks, add in pot and cook for another 1min.
(optional) STEP 11: turn off heat, let stew sit for 5-10mins with lid covered before serving (soaking up more sauce)
READY TO SERVE!
RESOURCES
fancy, more traditional ver.
Chef has a very familiar Cantonese accent in mandarin haha
